Iranian PressTV Broadcasts Homophobic Anti-Harper Hate Smears (feat. Joshua Blakeney)

Joshua Blakeney is one of the most disturbing journalists in Canada. On the one hand he comes across as harmless, a babbling idiot who publishes stories worthy of the National Enquirer. Most people don’t believe his fish stories, it’s hard to take them seriously when peppered with stupidity. My favourite was the one that said the Canadian government was trying to kill off west coast natives by causing the extinction of Pacific salmon. It was a classic Blakeneyism.

This week Blakeney crowned his previous achievements of the heights of stupidity- going all homophobic on us. There’s so much wrong with this that I hardly know where to start…

Blakeney’s gaff came from a story he did on yesterday’s rally against Rob Ford. A group of angry people, many of the usual suspects, showed up and chanted anti-Ford slogans.The story left it feeling that the vast majority of people in the city wand Ford to leave. It’s not quite the truth, but truth doesn’t appear to be as common as fiction at PressTV. So, it’s what would be expected.

Joshua often has a hard time keeping focus when doing a live segment- it’s almost inevitable he’ll start dwelling into unrelated items. This time was no exception, somehow he went from talking about Rob Ford to making the statements accusing that the Harper administration is “replete with homosexuals”.

Holy homophobia Mahmoud Ahmadinejad!

Of course, it’s unlikely that people in the Ahmadinejad administration would be too upset about Blakeney saying something like that. After all, one can still be executed for certain homosexual acts in Iran. How Blakeney (or anyone) can balance his conscience while working in the interests of this government is beyond my imagination.

The PressTV news anchor running the show must have spent some time living in the West- realizing that Blakeney was on a dangerous tangent that could hurt the station’s reputation (whatever that means). He quickly intervened and tried to steer Joshua in another direction (look at the airplane!).

Blakeney’s quote “replete with homosexuals” is one of the most tasteless and stupid things I’ve heard said on PressTV. He basically sounds like Edgar J Hoover back in the 50’s. Of course, much of what comes out of Iran today sounds like that.

Despite the silliness of his Blakeneyisms, young Joshua isn’t as harmless as he looks. His stories on PressTV serve more than just comedic background- they also serve the needs of the propaganda wing of the Iranian government. Since Canada withdrew diplomatic relationships with Iran, people in their government and religious circles have got angry and vindictive.

There are poorly informed people around the world (and in Canada) who are likely to fall for such a Blakeneyism or will use it to their benefit. In Blakeney’s story about Harper exterminating salmon, No One Is Illegal radicals used the story to radicalise and appropriate the voices of people in the Sto:Lo nation. Seriously uncool.

The word is on the street that PressTV are looking to relocate Joshua Blakeney out to Asia. There’s also word that they’re looking for someone to step into his place. Whoever considers such a move is highly recommended to get written confirmation they’ll be allowed to keep their integrity. If Blakeney had any integrity when he took his job, this may have saved him.

Let’s hope he’s soon South Korea’s problem. (Or, even better- send him to North Korea.)

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